The LMU women's basketball team (8-12, 2-5 WCC) could not hand BYU (13-5, 4-1 WCC) its first home loss this season, falling 72-53 Thursday night.

PROVO, Utah - A poor shooting second half coupled with a hot BYU squad looking to remain undefeated on its home court was too much to overcome as the LMU women's basketball team fell 72-53 in West Coast Conference action Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

BYU moves to 13-5 overall, 4-1 in WCC play and remains a perfect 9-0 in Provo this season. The Lions, who have yet to win a true road game in 2012-13, drop to 8-12 overall and 2-5 in the WCC.

The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three, including an 8-for-14 performance from beyond the arc in the first half. Kim Beeston led the way with 15 points on five triples while Jennifer Hamson and Morgan Bailey chipped in 10 points apiece. Haley Steed dished out 13 assists to go along with eight points. BYU also held a hefty 46-28 rebounding advantage over LMU.

Alex Cowling led the Lions with 14 points, but did not find the back of the net in the second half when LMU hit just eight field goals (on 29 attempts). Deanna Johnson came off the bench to net a career-high 11 points while Hazel Ramirez dished out five assists.

The Lions jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead as BYU went 0-for-5 from the field to open the game. The Cougars finally got on the board at the 16:53 mark on a three-pointer by Haley Steed. LMU responded with back-to-back layups by Cowling and Ben-Jumbo and a three by Deanna Johnson pushed the Lion lead to six, 11-5 with 14:39 to play.

A 7-0 Cougar run gave the home team its first lead of the game, 12-11, and an 8-0 run that included back-to-back Beeston threes extended BYU's lead to 11, 34-23 with 5:30 to play.

Five straight points by Cowling trimmed the spread back down to four, 36-32, but the Cougars closed out the half with another 8-0 run to take a 46-34 advantage into the locker room.

LMU opened the second half with four straight points, cutting the BYU lead to single digits, but the Cougars responded with a 12-0 run that made it 60-40 with 11:40 to play and the Lions could never recover.

The Lions continue their three-game WCC road swing when they head to the Pacific Northwest next week, taking on Gonzaga on Thursday, Jan. 31 and Portland on Saturday, Feb. 2. Live audio will be available for both contests through the Lions Audio Network at LMULions.com.